Education

Construction is under way or expected to start soon in several parts of the county as the Lancaster County School District adds new facilities and addresses growth in Indian Land.
“Everything’s on schedule,” said LCSD Facilities Director David Small.
Projects currently under way are multipurpose buildings at Lancaster High and Buford High. Construction began last month on artificial turf for football fields at Andrew Jackson, Buford and Lancaster High schools.
“The turf will be completed by the time school starts,” Small said.

Indian Land Elementary School’s cafeteria was buzzing with laughter and long conversations as old friends gathered for the 2017 Indian Land alumni reunion June 25.

The parking lot was packed as people arrived to bring in covered potluck dishes. J.O. McCorkle, an 80-year-old Indian Land native from the class of 1958, stood proudly by the tea jugs as people walked past him.

“I made all the tea here,” McCorkle said. “So, if you want, you can just call me the tea-maker.”

Two Indian Land Middle School teachers were named teachers of the year for S.C. Veterans of Foreign Wars District 5 and American Legion Post 250.

James Logan was named the VFW District 5 Teacher of the Year, and Kailee Ann Rose was named the American Legion Post 250 Teacher of the Year. Both teach special education at ILMS, where both have taught for three years.

The school board this week selected two Lancaster County natives as the new principals for Lancaster High School and Kershaw Elementary.
Rosalyn Mood, who has been serving as interim principal at LHS since longtime Principal Joe Keenan retired, was named principal of the county’s largest school.
And Kelli Farmer, a Heath Springs native who has been working in Greenville County, will come back home to lead Kershaw Elementary.
Both were approved by the school board at Tuesday night’s meeting.

Looking for an affordable summer camp with an educational focus? Check out USC Lancaster’s Arts and Sciences Adventure Camp.
The first session of the eight-day camp, sponsored by Nutramax Laboratories, Springs Memorial Hospital and USCL, was June 5-15. You can still sign up for the second summer session, which runs July 10-13 and 17-20.
“All parents have to do is apply and put… that they have a need,” said camp director Dwayne Brown.

Lancaster County school board unanimously approved a $102 million budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year after a public hearing Tuesday night.
Expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year are $102,649,796 and revenues are $99,930,644.

It was the perfect day to harvest their fourth year of honey – close to July but not so late that the honey becomes bitter.

Debra Huey, a Lancaster High job-transition coach, and her family walked to their eight beehives last Sunday and took out all of the frames, which were full of honey and had a wax layer on top.
Huey said she’s always been interested in how smart bees are.
“My grandfather was a beekeeper,” she said. “I was always amazed and so fascinated by the hives.”

Lancaster County School District will have a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the upcoming fiscal year’s $102 million budget before its approval.
The meeting will be at the school district office, 300 S. Catawba Street, Lancaster.
The board of trustees will vote on the budget at 6 p.m. after the public hearing. The monthly board meeting will follow at 7 p.m.
LCSD Superintendent Gene Moore said the hearing is designed for the public to give input to the board before the budget is voted on.

Gene Moore, who will retire next month as Lancaster County school superintendent, was packing up his office Thursday and came across a puzzling 125-year-old artifact.
Underneath a box atop a cabinet, he found a school attendance ledger dated 1892.
“I was cleaning stuff out and was like, ‘Whoa, what is that?’” Moore said Thursday.
In his 12 years as superintendent, Moore has been known for keeping an orderly office, but he had never come across the ledger before.